Everton’s Brazilian striker Richarlison sent shivers down the Merseyside club’s hierarchy when he said last week that he would like to sit down and talk about a move away from Goodison “if a good offer were to come in.” However, Darren Bent believes it is imperative that Carlo Ancelotti hangs on to the club’s joint-top scorer for the 2019/20 season.
Darren Bent said “There was obviously that report that Barcelona made that massive bid for him and obviously if Barcelona come in for him with that kind of fee, it’s difficult to kind of say now. I guess that’s what he’s alluding to – if one of the big boys come in, he at least wants the opportunity to maybe go and talk to them and see what’s happening. Obviously that would be a real blow for Carlo Ancelotti, who’s trying to build something down there, but look, he’s been very good for Everton, I wouldn’t say his stats warranted an £80million bid. I wouldn’t say he’s on that kind of level but we know what transfer fees are like nowadays, they’re absolutely crazy. He’s a good player and it would be a big blow if he was to leave because I can see what Ancelotti is trying to build. It would be a big, big blow but I can understand from Richarlison’s point of view if a club like Barcelona, one of the world’s biggest, comes in, he wants to at least have the opportunity to talk to them.”